Poultry fountain



March 7, 1950 J. A. ALBERT 2,499,940

POULTRY FOUNTAIN Filed Nov. 24, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet l Inventor JZcoB AALBEH 7;

By MW March 7, .1950 J. A. ALBERT 2,499,940

POULTRY FOUNTAIN Filed Nov. 24, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Inventor J/qcoeflflz BEE 2";

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Patented Mar. 7, 1950 UNITED S TAT ES PATENT GFFICE POULTRY FOUNTAIN Jacob A. Albert, Annville, Pa.

Application November 24, 1945; SerialNo. 630,571

1v Claim. 1

The present invention relatesto new and useful improvements in poultry fountains and moreparticularlyto a device of this character which'will automatically maintain a supply-of waterin the fountain.

An important object of the present invention is to provide a device of'this character in which an innerdrinkingabasin is suspendedzby-spring means within an overflow basin whereby water dripped by the poultry while drinking from the inner basin will be caught in the overflow basin and drained from the fountain without resulting in a wetting of the ground surrounding the fountain.

A further object of the invention is to provide a control valve supported on the drinking basin and normally held in open position by spring suspension means for the inner basin, the weight of water entering the drinking basin serving to automatically close the valve.

A further object of the invention is to provide an apparatus of this character of simple and practical construction, which is eflicient and reliable in use, relatively inexpensive to manufacture and otherwise well adapted for the purposes for which the same is intended.

Other objects and advantages reside in the details of construction and operttion as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view.

Figure 2 is a top plan view.

Figure 3 is a longitudinal sectional view taken substantially on a line 33 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a transverse sectional view taken on a line i l of Figure 1.

Figure 5 is a perspective view of the adjustable plate for the spring suspension means, and

Figure 6 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional View taken substantially on a line 66 of Figure 2.

Referring now to the drawings in detail wherein for the purpose of illustration I have disclosed a preferred embodiment of the invention, the numeral 5 designates an open drinking basin and the numeral 6 designates an open drip basin, the basins being of predetermined shape and the driking basin 5 being of an area less than the area of the basin 5 and arranged with the drinkbasin within the drip basin.

The inner surface of the drip basin 6, at one side thereof is formed with one or more recesses i having a pin 3 extending transversely thereof and spaced from the recess'for engagement by-a rigid hook 9 projecting outwardly from one side of the drinking basin 5 whereby to piv'ot'ally'support one side of the drinking basin in spaced relation from the walls and bottom of'the' drip basin 8 as will be apparent from aninspection of Figuses 3 4 of thed'rawings. 'Ihepin: S may be secured in place by having its 'ends imbedded in the inner wall of said basin 6.

The other side of the drip basin i5 is formed with a boss iii having a vertical water passage 5 l formed therein and connected at its lower end to a conventional form of valve I2 in a supply pipe IS, the upper end of the passage ll having a pipe M connected thereto and rising from the rear edge of the drip basin.

A valve housing or body [5 is connected to the upper end of the pipe I l by means of an elbow 55 so that the valve body I5 overlies the drinking basin 5.

The bottom of the valve body I5 is formed with a valve seat i7 adapted for engagement by a conical valve I 8 carried at the upper end of a valve stem l9 which extends downwardly through the bottom of the valve body [5 and through a tubular guide 2i connected to the bottom of the valve body. The stem I9 is of a diameter substantially less than the internal diameter of the guide 28 whereby water from the valve body I5 is adapted to freely pass through the guide 29 for discharge into the drinking basin 5. The lower end of the valve stem is is adapted to rest upon the bottom of the drinking basin 5 as will be apparent from an inspection of Figure 3 of the drawings.

The rear end of the drinking basin 5 is supported in an elevated position above the bottom of the drip basin 6 by means of an expansible coil spring 2! connected at its lower end to the drinking basin and having a hook 22 at its upper end adapted for selective engagement in inclined rows of keyhole slots 23 formed in a connecting plate 24. The upper end of the connecting plate is supported between the elbow I6 and valve body i5 by means of a wire hanger 25.

The bottom of the drip basin 6 is provided with a drain pipe 2%.

In the operation of the device the lower end of the spring 2! is adjusted in the keyhole slots 23 of the connecting plate 24 so that the lower end of the valve stem ill will be raised upwardly by the drinking basin 5 to maintain the valve l8 in an open position, as shown in Figure 3 of the drawings. Upon opening the valve I2 water will then enter the drinking basin 5 through the tubular guide 20 and the weight of the Water after reaching a predetermined level will lower the drinking basin against the tension of the spring 2| and the valve l8 will gravitate into closed position.

In view of the foregoing description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings it is believed that a clear understanding of the construction, operation and advantages of the device will be quite apparent to those skilled in this art. A more detailed description is accordingly deemed unnecessary.

It is to be understood, however, that even though there is herein shown and described a preferred embodiment of the invention the same is susceptible to certain changes fully comprehended by the spirit of the invention as herein described and the scope of the appended claim.

What is claimed is:

A poultry fountain comprising a drip basin, an elongated drinking basin pivoted at one end in the drip basin for downward swinging under the weight of liquid therein, means adjustably suspending the drinking basin at the other end thereof and yieldingly urging said other end upwardly, a liquid supply pipe line having a discharge end overlying the suspended end of said drinking basin, and a downwardly closing valve in said discharge end of said pipe includin a REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 436,082 Hubbard Sept. 9, 1890 527,005 Roblin Oct. 2, 1894 1,345,113 Andrew June 29, 1920 1,446,701 Harris Feb. 27, 1923 1,603,198 Edington Oct. 12, 1926 1,958,224 Anderson May 8, 1934 2,011,684 Martin Aug, 20, 1935 2,107,573 Langdon et a1. Feb. 8, 1938 OTHER REFERENCES Pacific Rural Press, page 289, Nov. 1, 1941 

